Interview With An Author
by Rapidfyrez
Summary: Lights, Camera, Action! Welcome to Interview With An Author, where we interview your favorite fanfiction Authors, while trying not to completely obliterate the Fourth Wall. Join a colorful cast of characters as they seek to learn exactly what goes through a writers mind!


Episode 1: Breaking the Fourth Wall

Bright studio lights flickered on one at a time. Slowly but surely, they showed off what appeared to be a talk show studio. A large desk sat in front of a television screen, with three chairs sitting across and to the side of the desk. It was all a very classy little setup, one could tell as the last of the lights turned on.

And when they did, a single announcer spoke up, "Ladies and gentleman, welcome to Interview With an Author!"

Lights turned on in front of the stage to reveal wildly cheering fans in the stands, all a variety of interesting characters. Somewhere normal humans in normal clothes, some looked like human sized transformers, and a few looked like elves wearing steam punk attire. A few were even cyborgs that were more man then machine. Regardless though, they all let out a thunderous applause as the show began.

The front of the stage split open and a platform rose upwards, "And introducing your host, Eyevan!"

Said host was a seven foot tall robot in a tuxedo. His hands were three fingers metal tendrils, and his entire suit was actually shiny silver. The weirdest part though, was that instead of a normal head, the host had a large LED eye where his face would be. The rest of his head was a large spear, about a foot and a half long and quite sharp.

The crowd went wild, cheering and applauding the robotic spear man, who raised his hands, "Thank you, thank you!" he called back in an accent that sounded very similar to that of a British butler.

The crowd continued to cheer whilst Eyevan walked on over to his desk and took a seat. He made a show of organizing his papers for a moment, before crumpling them up and tossing them over his shoulder off stage.

Eyevan looked at the camera pointed at him "Hello, and welcome to Interview With an Author! I'm your host, Eyevan, from the still in progress Arms Race series. Tonight, we have a very special guest for you all here."

A bunch of cue cards suddenly appeared in Eyevan's hand, and a monocle appeared in his other. He placed the monocle over his oversized eye and began reading from them, "You know him for such works as, the 'Another Type of Alien' trilogy, 'Will of the Primes', and 'Son of Primus'. He has a knack for writing Jack, and he seems obsessed with Transformers, please welcome, Rapidfyrez!"

There was an applause as Rapidfyrez entered stage left. He was a ten foot tall robot with a large barrel chest, thick shoulder pads, a curved visor, and a spinning turbine where his chest met his abdomen. He waved at the crowd before finally taking a seat in one of the chairs. It groaned ominously, whilst the Author leaned back and got comfortable.

"Thanks Eyevan, it's a pleasure to be here." the Author spoke in a distorted voice.

He then cocked his head to the side, "I don't recall you having a body though. I thought you were a talking spear."

The audience laughed while Eyevan's one eye lowered slightly, "Well, yes, I do actually. But for the purpose of this story, you thought it would be nice enough to give me an actual body, remember?"

Rapidfyrez scratched his metal chin, "Oh yeah, that's right. I think I could've done better."

"At least you gave him both arms!" a voice yelled from the audience.

Rapidfyrez turned to the audience, "Hey, I thought we'd already gone over this Gearbox!"

"No we didn't, you ignored the conversation and wrote me having amnesia you twat!"

The audience chuckled while Rapid crossed his arms, "Well, I did have to give you a motivation somehow."

The voice fell silent, though one could hear him grumbling to himself. With that little interruption finished, Eyevan readjusted the blue tie around his neck and turned back to Rapidfyrez.

"Yes, well…" he looked at a cue card, "Ah, here we go. So Rapidfyrez, why are we here exactly?"

"Oh, that's simple Eyevan." Rapidfyrez crossed his arms behind his head, "I get a lot of questions from time to time on my stories. So this is to help answer those questions. Later on, maybe I'll interview other Authors."

Eyevan gave a nod, "That's a good plan…wait, don't you mean I'll interview?"

Rapidfyrez was quite for a second, "…Sure… How about we move onto the next question?"

That got an awkward cough out of Eyevan, "Very well. Let's see what we have here." he began shifting through his cue cards.

"Ah!" he held one up, "Here's the most common one. 'When will you update?' it asks."

Rapidfyrez visibly twitched when Eyevan asked that question, "Are there…any other questions you could ask?"

"Well, Rapid, it's the most frequently-"

"Next question." Rapidfyrez deadpanned.

Eyevan shrugged and looked through the cue cards, "Ah, here's one you got for a time. It asks, 'Why did you decide to reboot Another Type of Alien Book 3?'"

Rapidfyrez let out a sigh, "Ah, that. Going to get a lot of scrap for that one. Alright then Eyevan, since you asked so nicely."

"I aim to please."

"Indeed." Rapid cleared his throat, "The reason I rebooted ATOA are my own. But basically, I didn't like what had been done with the original book 3. That's not to say I didn't like the book, but I felt that there were too many characters suddenly added with no rhyme or reason. I liked the first half of the story, but after Jack and Kara were rescued, it became too episodic for me. The reboot's going to be more of a three act structure in comparison."

"Ah, that makes sense," Eyevan agreed, "So you rebooted the series to create a more flowing narrative, is that?"

Rapid shrugged, "Basically. It also let me experiment with some new ideas I'll be bringing in."

"Like the Freelancers?"

Rapid stiffened, "Ep ep ep! Let's not bring that up, okay? Spoilers and everything."

Eyevan shrugged, "Alright then." he began shuffling through the cards, "Ah, here's another one. When will you update?"

Rapid glared at Eyevan, who sheepishly looked for a different card without saying another word, "Ah, here we go. Why did you start writing fanfiction?"

The robot cocked his head to the side, "Seriously, that's a question?"

"Well no, but since no one actually posted any when you announced them, we had to make this crap up as we go." Eyevan deadpanned.

"Oh right." Rapid nodded, "That's really irritating at times. Alright, why did I start writing fanfiction? Well that's interesting, because I initially hated fanfiction."

There gasps of shock from the audience, along with several members screaming 'Heresy!' and 'non believer!' and 'Kill it with fire!'. Rapidfyrez raised his hands defensively.

"Hey hey, at the time I only knew of the…creepier stuff, yaoi, slash fics, etc. You know, the things that require a bucket of brain bleach after you read them."

Eyevan held up a large white container with the words 'Brain Bleach' written on it, "Only $19.95 at select retailers! Order now."

Rapid glared at the spear headed machine, "Sorry, but we need the money."

"What money, we're not getting paid for this." Rapid reminded him.

"Oh you're not, but I am."

The audience laughed while Rapid shook his head, "Anyway, the thing is, I discovered fanfiction on accident. I was browsing Deviantart, looking at Mass Effect comics, when I suddenly came across a sweet little fluff story written about the main character and one of the romance options. From there, I came across various fanfiction stories, some good and some bad. Eventually, I started writing my own fanfiction after several months acting as a follower and reader."

"And that's when you wrote Techno-Organics, right?" Eyevan asked.

"Wrong." Rapid answered, "My first ever story, that some fans might remember, was Prime Effect. A little crossover between Transformers Prime and Mass Effect that never got past chapter 1. I scrapped the idea and went onto Noble Mission, a Halo and Mass Effect crossover. That too was scrapped."

Eyevan leaned forward on his arms, "So what inspired you to start writing in the Transformers Prime universe?"

"I read a story written by Blackwolf219 that revolved around a kidnapped Jack being turned against the Autobots. That was the first fanfic I read that actually got an emotional reaction out of me, and I realized the possibilities. Eventually, after reading several fics revolving around the kids being turned into Cybertronians, the idea for Techno-Organics was born. And then promptly forgotten when I started writing Son of Primus. The rest, as you know, is history."

Eyevan gave a nod, "Oh yes, you have quite a roster of stories now. 18 now, correct?"

"When this story is posted, nineteen." Rapid responded. There was the sound of a loud crack through the studio.

"What was that?"

Eyevan looked bored, "Oh, that? Probably the Fourth Wall breaking."

"Ah, that." Rapid nodded and leaned back, "So, what else you got for me?"

The spearbot began looking through his cards, "Ah, here's one you got a few times. Will you be keeping the events of ATOA Book 3 in the reboot?"

"Yes and no." Rapid sighed, "I will keep the events that were the most major, but anything involving Elhini's work directly will likely be left out. That means the Gotham Ball will likely not happen in the Reboot."

There was a collection of groans from the audience, "Sorry guys, but I just don't see a reason in writing that saga out again without Elhini's characters."

More groans while Eyevan shifted through the cards, "Ah, here's another one. What's your plan for future stories?"

Rapid tapped his chin, "That's a good one. Well, I can't say everything for certain, but at the moment I have plans for Another Type of Alien, and Darkness Falls. Darkness Falls has a sequel planned for the 'Engulfing Darkness' Trilogy, and there are a total of three more books planned for ATOA."

"Three more?" Eyevan asked, his lone eye widening.

Rapid nodded, a cheeky grin worn under his helmet, "Yep. The next will follow Predacon Rising VERY loosely. I wasn't a fan of the original, so only a few events will be lifted from it. The fifth will also be an adaptation of Age of Extinction, with my own twist on it. The Sixth is going to be more a short story, and the final crossover with Elhini Prime. It'll basically end the series, unless my muse says otherwise."

The audience let out some disappointed moans, a few even sniffled. Rapid looked over at them sympathetically, "Sorry guys, but that's all I have left for the series. But when it's done, I'll likely finish my other fanfic works and begin really working on the original story."

"About time!" that familiar voice yelled.

"Shut it Gearbox!" Rapid ordered, and looked back to Eyevan, "So, what else you got?"

Eyevan held up a card, "When will you- Oh bollocks, who slipped this in!?" he demanded. No one answered, and the spear bot grumbled to himself before finding another card, "Ah, here's one. Why are all your stories centered around Jack?"

"Because Miko's an annoying character." Rapid deadpanned. There was laughs amongst the audience. When they died down, Rapid answered the question properly, "Really, it's because he's the most realistic character on the show, and the best written. He acts like how a person would really act upon meeting giant robots, and developed a lot of qualities I appreciate. Add to the fact that his back story is actually very lacking, and I just find I can relate to him well. I was sixteen myself when I started writing stories around him."

"And your feelings on the other characters?" Eyevan asked.

Rapid shrugged, "I like the bots, they're all fun and interesting. Raf is a simple but fun kid, but he wasn't really all that developed. But Miko…" Rapid groaned and rubbed his metal face.

"Where do I begin? Okay, firstly, Miko is an idiot, plain and simple. I don't know how hard she was dropped as a baby, but clearly she was dropped. That's the only way to explain why anyone would think it's a good idea to follow thirty foot tall robots into a warzone. For the longest time I HATED her character, and it's why she is really only a plot device in my earlier stories. However, I have changed my tune."

"Oh really?" Eyevan asked smugly.

Rapid gave the robot a deadpan look, "Yes, really. I did see there are some qualities to Miko that are good. She is a very protective person, and wants to help her friends. Problem is, again, she's a reckless idiot, so she causes more harm then good. Not to mention all her development in season 2 was lost in season 3, I hate that incident with the Apex Armor for the record, and she was wasted potential. It's why in my stories, she is either ignored, or goes through a traumatic event that keeps the fun part of her recklessness, but makes her both more mature, and more useful then she was in the series."

Eyevan raised a brow, "But didn't she help take the Decepticon ship? And use the Apex Armor to beat Starscream within an inch of his life, and help the bots discover Megatrons plan in the premier."

"I'll give you that last one." Rapid admitted, "But, like I said, the Apex Armor bit makes no sense. It's a piece of armor big as a human designed for Cybertronian use. How does it manage to latch onto someone, when they're smaller then what probably latches onto the user? Plus, why didn't the Autobots use it later in the assault? If they'd given it to Optimus, Arcee, or Bee, the whole incident where Bee 'died', another event I hate by the way, would have been avoided. Heck, most of season three could've been avoided. But I'm rambling. Point is, Miko was underutilized in the series, and I seek to use her in a more mature and less 'punky' way. Any other questions?"

Eyevan shifted through the cue cards, "Well, there's only one left honestly. When will you update?"

Rapid sighed, "Guess there's no escaping that one, is there?"

"Sorry." Eyevan apologized.

"Not your fault, I'm the one writing this afterall." Rapid reminded him. Another loud crack sounded.

"There goes the fourth wall…" Eyevan mumbled.

Rapid looked directly at the video camera, "To my many followers who ask when I plan to update… be patient. I have a life outside of writing that I live. College takes up a good half of my week, and Sunday's are my day off from writing. Sometimes I just don't have time to write, and others I lose my interest in writing. I can't give a consistent update day because of this, but I ask you all, please, be patient. I will update when I can, it just might not be the immediate day following."

He turned back to Eyevan, "That everything?"

"Just about." Eyevan admitted.

"Good." Rapid stood up and waved his hand. Eyevan vanished and the large robot took his place. His armor melted into a well pressed suit, and his body changed into that of a six foot tall, scrawny brown haired, blue eyed youth sitting in the chair.

"This is Fanfiction writer Rapidfyrez thanking my fans for their support. You guys are wonderful when you don't make me want to tear my hair out. And sorry for my little rant there, but you know how it is. Next time we come back to Interview with an Author, I'm bringing in Elhini Prime, along with her Original Character, Dusk Greyman! See you guys next time!"


End file.
